Igor Kokoškov

Igor Stefan Kokoškov (; born 17 December 1971) is a Serbian professional basketball coach.

He had spent 19 years in the NBA as an assistant coach, with a brief stint as head coach for the Phoenix Suns for a full season. He spent a season in Turkey with Fenerbahçe, before returning to the NBA to become an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks in 2021.

Kokoškov was the first European to be a full-time assistant coach in NCAA Division I college basketball, and the first non-American to hold such a position in the NBA.

His savvy, ambitious nature and command of the English language were factors when he was hired by the University of Missouri Tigers, as a part of their full-time men's basketball coaching staff in 1999, making him the first European to hold such a position in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. On 29 May 2013, Kokoškov was named as assistant coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. On 17 February 2015, Kokoškov was named as assistant coach for the Orlando Magic, until the end of the season.

On 1 July 2015, Kokoškov was hired by the Utah Jazz to be an assistant coach. On 5 December 2016, Kokoškov led Utah to a win over Los Angeles Lakers, 107–101. Jazz head coach Quin Snyder had fallen ill and missed their game against the Lakers. He would remain assistant coach for the Jazz until their run in the 2018 NBA Playoffs concluded, which ended on 8 May 2018 with a 112–102 loss to the Houston Rockets. and officially took on the role on 14 May. In his official head coaching debut in the NBA on 17 October, Kokoškov led the Suns to a 121–100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. However, they finished the season with a 19–63 record, tied for the second-worst record in the league. On 22 April 2019, the Suns fired Kokoškov.

Return to assistant coaching (2019–2020)

On 14 June 2019, Kokoškov was named an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings under new head coach Luke Walton's coaching staff.

Fenerbahçe (2020–2021)

On 4 July 2020, Kokoškov was named the head coach for Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketball Super League and the EuroLeague. It is his first club coaching appointment in Europe after 25 years. Kokoskov had a 20–14 record in the EuroLeague and reached the EuroLeague Playoffs where his team got swept by CSKA Moscow. Also, he went 22–8 in the Turkish League before his team got swept by newly crowned EuroLeague champion Anadolu Efes in the domestic finals. On 27 July 2021, he parted ways with Fenerbahçe.

Return to NBA assistant coaching (2021–2025)

On 31 August 2021, Kokoškov was appointed an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks. After spending one season with Dallas, on 6 July 2022, Kokoškov was named as assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets. he parted ways with the Nets in May 2023. On 14 June 2023, Kokoškov was hired as assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks.

Anadolu Efes (2025)

On July 2, 2025, Kokoškov signed with Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). On November 27, 2025, he was fired from his position.

National team coaching career

Serbia and Montenegro assistant (2004–2005)

Kokoškov was an assistant coach of the Serbia and Montenegro national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2005 EuroBasket, under renowned European head coach Željko Obradović. Former Serbian coach Božidar Maljković recommended him for this position to Slovenian Federation Secretary-General Rasho Nesterović.

His contract with Slovenia's national team ended after the EuroBasket 2017 where Slovenia won the gold medal.

Serbia (2019–2021)

On 20 November 2019, the Basketball Federation of Serbia named Kokoškov the new head coach of the Serbia national team. He appointed Dejan Milojević, Vladimir Jovanović and Jovica Antonić as assistant coaches, as well as Bogdan Karaičić as scout. On 14 September 2021, he parted ways with the Basketball Federation of Serbia as the Serbian team coach.

Personal life

In 1990, Kokoškov was part of a near-fatal car crash which shattered his knee and ended his basketball career.

Kokoškov and his wife, Patricia, were married in the summer of 2009. They have two children: a son and a daughter.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili honored Kokoškov with an Order of Honour, Georgia's highest civilian honor, on 18 December 2011.

Head coaching record

NBA

| style="text-align:left;"|Phoenix

| style="text-align:left;"|

| 82||19||63||||align="center"|5th in Pacific||—||—||—||||style="text-align:center;"|Missed playoffs

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career

| 82||19||63|||| |||0||0||0||||

EuroLeague

| align="left" |Fenerbahçe Beko

| align="left" |2020–21

| 37 || 20 || 17 || || align="center"|Eliminated in Playoffs

|-class="sortbottom"

| align="center" colspan=2|Career||37||20||17||||

References

External links

The Official Athletic Site of University of Missouri
Kokoškov preuzeo reprezentaciju Gruzije, MTSMondo, 18 April 2008
Phoenix Suns coach Igor Kokoskov's journey began with near-fatal auto accident, Arizona Republic, 2 July 2018